Japanese minister hails TEPCO decision on foreign workers

May 23, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese labor minister Takumi Nemoto Thursday welcomed a decision by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. <9501> not to use foreign workers for nuclear plant decommissioning work.

"This is an appropriate decision," Nemoto said at a parliamentary committee meeting.

On Tuesday, the labor ministry called for TEPCO's careful consideration of its plan to use foreign workers who enter Japan under the country's new visa program for decommissioning work at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In response, TEPCO said Wednesday that it will put the plan on hold for the time being. The Fukushima nuclear plant is the site of a triple reactor meltdown that occurred in March 2011.

Japan introduced the new visa program in April this year to accept more foreign workers to address serious labor shortages in the country. Jiji Press